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<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cCan Jean Silva jump Lerone Murphy in the title queue (since Movsar Evloev is apparently never fighting for the belt)?\u201d<\/p>\n
Absolutely. To steal my own golf analogy, Lerone Murphy is the leader in the clubhouse right now, but Jean Silva is only one stroke back, and he\u2019s on the Par-5 18th hole. One big performance can move him to the top of the standings.<\/p>\n
The thing you have to remember about Murphy is that he beat Aaron Pico. Yes, it was an incredibly impressive win, but it also came over a guy who is unranked in the UFC, making his debut. That\u2019s not prohibitive for Murphy to get a title shot \u2014 you\u2019ve seen the momentum he garnered off it \u2014 but it is a little lacking compared to a highly-touted guy from a very popular camp, beating the most recent title challenger. If Jean Silva does something magical against Diego Lopes on Saturday, people will quickly forget about Murphy.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s really the crux of the matter. Murphy is the frontrunner right now, but the UFC hasn\u2019t announced Alexander Volkanovski vs. Murphy yet for a reason. They\u2019re waiting to see how this shakes out. If Silva wins emphatically, he can jump in front, or at least make it one of those situations where the guy who gets the title fight is the one who can make the date work.<\/p>\n
But, of course, Silva has to win impressively this weekend first. And while \u201cLord\u201d is a healthy betting favorite, Lopes is a hard out for him. Silva is giving up a huge amount of size, and Lopes is extremely durable. We\u2019ll see how it all shakes out, but I\u2019m pumped for Saturday\u2019s main event.<\/p>\n
\u201c2026, Jed. Who comes back to the UFC, Conor McGregor or Ronda Rousey?\u201d<\/p>\n Chalk this up as a question I didn\u2019t think we\u2019d be talking about in 2025, but here we are. A battle of the immovable object and the unstoppable force.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, Ronda Rousey categorically denied any interest in fighting at the proposed UFC White House card, though she didn\u2019t entirely rule out a possible comeback at some point. Meanwhile, Conor McGregor has been saying he\u2019s returning to MMA for years at this point, but has yet to actually do so. So who comes back first?<\/p>\n I guess the smart money is on McGregor. While Rousey could return for a particularly big payday at some point, I think her future in fighting is over. If Rousey ever comes back to anything, I suspect it would be the WWE.<\/p>\n On the other side of things, trusting Conor McGregor to return is never a safe bet, but when the UFC White House card was first proposed, I did immediately think that it was the sort of thing that would make it happen. McGregor is not just in fighting for the money at this point; he\u2019s in it for the spectacle. And while I don\u2019t believe Jon Jones at all when he says the allure of the White House has him interested, I think a unique, once-in-a-lifetime event like this is exactly what McGregor wants to be associated with. Furthermore, an event of that magnitude needs a similarly spectacular main event, and at this point, the only thing the UFC has to offer that feels big enough for the White House lawn is McGregor.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Sphere, UFC White House \u2026 where else would you like to see UFC events? UFC NASA? White sands missile range? Carnival Cruise?\u201d<\/p>\n I mean, absolutely sign me up for UFC: The Moon. That would be awesome. Even UFC: International Space Station would be pretty dope.<\/p>\n But on a semi-serious note, the UFC White House card is definitely a little gauche, but still kind of a fun, unique idea, and I would love for the UFC to do more of that. I was deeply, deeply disappointed with Fight Island just being Yas Arena instead of some kumite-inspired event location. And if the UFC would bring me on as a consultant, I\u2019d pitch all sorts of these fun one-off events.<\/p>\n The biggest one, though, and the obvious missed opportunity already, is UFC Africa. Eventually that will happen, I\u2019m sure, but it already should have, and every year they skip it feels like a missed opportunity. Let\u2019s go ahead and get UFC Africa done somewhere, so then we can start focusing on UFC: Antarctica.<\/p>\n Also, for the record, a UFC Cruise feels like the sort of thing the company might end up doing one day. Kinda like when Hooters had an airline.<\/p>\n \u201cWill eliminating PPVs be at least partially responsible for growth of UFC popularity among US viewers?<\/p>\n \u201c(Related question: Is there any evidence that viewership in the US for non-PPV fight cards is greater now than, say, 10 years ago?)\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s possible, but I\u2019d say it\u2019s unlikely.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t get me wrong, removing PPVs is a net win for MMA fans. If you are a hardcore MMA fan, you\u2019re now going to spend almost $1000 less a year to watch fights. That\u2019s huge. But as the old saying goes, there\u2019s no such thing as a free lunch.<\/p>\n The downside to removing PPVs is that there is now almost no incentive for the UFC to try to promote anymore. We already saw this happen with the ESPN deal and the guaranteed money from it, and now they\u2019ve removed the one incentive they had to put on big events. In fact, the incentives are now working the other way. With the UFC having a guaranteed yearly revenue for the next seven years, the only way to increase profit will be to lower overhead, and the easiest way to do that is by removing the middle class of UFC fighters and replacing them with more cheap labor from Contender Series. And while the three letters, U-F-C, are the brand and are what matter most, it\u2019s hard to draw casual interest with a fundamentally weak product. Just ask the XFL.<\/p>\n As for the second part, I don\u2019t know of any evidence, but I would strongly guess the answer is yes, just because access is a little easier. That being said, I doubt it\u2019s a huge difference. The MMA fanbase has, in my opinion, functionally maxed out in America. It will ebb and flow some, but we\u2019ve reached the upper limit on MMA fans in this country, because, simply put, fight sports are not for everyone.<\/p>\n Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone who sent in tweets (Xs?)! Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you\u2019re in luck because you can send your tweets to me, @JedKMeshew<\/a>, and I will answer all the good ones! It doesn\u2019t matter if they\u2019re topical or insane, just so long as they are good. Thanks again, and see y\u2019all next week.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n